


Kidnapped, missing, or...?

by hkandi



Category: Naruto
Genre: Crack, Developing Relationship, Gen, Hatake Kakashi is so Done, Iruka Week 2021, M/M, Naruto is Just Naruto, R&R, missing nin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 11:07:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hkandi/pseuds/hkandi
Summary: Naruto swears that Iruka has become a missing nin, and drags Kakashi into looking for him. Kakashi has some other plans in mind, and it looks like now they include helping Naruto learn how to actually gather intelligence and information...
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi & Uzumaki Naruko, Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka, Umino Iruka & Uzumaki Naruko
Comments: 7
Kudos: 56
Collections: Iruka Week 2021





	Kidnapped, missing, or...?

(I don't own any characters etc etc)

Kakashi groaned as a loud knocking on his front door resonated throughout his small apartment.

Rolling over in bed, he covered his head with his pillow, willing the sound and its perpetrator away. Away, to the depths of some place full of misery, for waking him up.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

"Go away," he mumbled to himself.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI!" the all-too familiar voice shouted, continuing to knock on the door.

Kakashi threw off his blanket and pulled a mask on his face as he walked to his door, which he flung open.

Naruto, naturally, was unfazed by it all.

"Finally!" the blond sighed, crossing his arms. "What took you so long?"

"What do you want, Naruto?"

"Iruka-sensei is gone."

"What?" Kakashi asked, sleepily.

"I said, Iruka-sensei is gone, and I think he's become a missing nin."

Kakashi took a deep breath to calm himself, lest he find himself at T&I later for murder.

"Why do you think he's become a missing nin?" he asked, against his better judgement.

"He told me he was so frustrated and overworked earlier this week that he was thinking about becoming a missing nin! And now I can't find him anywhere!"

Kakashi paused to consider this. He had known Iruka now for several years, and their friendship had turned into something a bit more, leading to their first date (finally) just before Kakashi was sent off on a two week mission, unexpectedly. 

Or had it been three weeks?

Either way, it was not exactly the best start to a...whatever it was they had or were working towards, but Kakashi was fairly certain nothing about the teacher had ever screamed "missing nin."

Other than when Kakashi himself turned in overly terrible reports, then the younger man literally screamed his desire to leave the village and not deal with his antics. But, surely that had been subtle flirting the entire time?

Trying to refocus, yet again, Kakashi yawned.

"Naruto, he's probably just at the academy. Go check there and leave me alone," Kakashi said, starting to close his door.

Naruto pushed it back open. "I did, duh! There's a substitute in his class."

"And what did the substitute tell you?" Kakashi asked, but Naruto chose to study his sandals instead of replying.

Kakashi sighed.

"You didn't ask him?" the copy nin ventured.

"I looked from outside?"

"It's like nothing Jiraiya or I taught you sunk into your head," Kakashi commented. "Us, or Iruka. Look, I just got back from my mission, I'm tired. Go find Sakura and have her help you find him, okay?"

"She's busy at the hospital with Grandma Tsunade," Naruto whined. "Now that I'm back you're training me again, remember?"

"As if you let me forget," Kakashi yawned. "What about your other friends?"

"You're my sensei, and this is important! Get dressed!"

"Go find Sakura and Tsunade and ask them together," Kakashi posed, but Naruto shook his head. 

"If I do, you definitely have to come with me! No one will probably give me the truth, but they'd definitely tell you! Now you have to come with! Go get dressed!" Naruto excitedly said, pushing Kakashi towards his closet. "I'll wait out here."

Kakashi closed the door, finally, and ran a hand through his hair. He certainly didn't want to traipse about the village with Naruto, but he had already intended to seek out Iruka later today and at least check in with him, since they hadn't even been able to talk since parting ways that one night.

Cursing to himself, Kakashi set off to get ready.

_____

"Okay, where are we looking first?" Kakashi asked, as they stood on the street.

"Well, maybe we should go to the Hokage," Naruto said. "Or should we check in with some of his friends? Like on guard duty or something?"

"Your call," Kakashi told him, and they set off for the hospital, where a stern nurse told them in no uncertain terms that the Hokage, Sakura, and Shizune were not to be disturbed.

"To the gate!" Naruto yelled, and took two steps before Kakashi pulled him back by his collar.

"Which gate?"

"Uh..." Naruto began. "All of them?"

Kakashi narrowed his visible eye. "If you think I'm spending my first few hours after the mission playing gate lottery with you, think again."

"Fine," Naruto said, rolling his eyes. "Let's go to the missions office and check in there, we can see if Iruka-sensei is working an early shift there and find the gate roster. Happy?"

"Finally using that brain, I see," Kakashi said, patting his head. "And on the way, you can buy me breakfast."

"It's lunchtime!"

"Whatever, it's on your dime," Kakashi laughed. "Lead the way."

___

Iruka was not at the missions desk, though the staff had a good laugh at Naruto's claim Iruka was now a missing-nin.

"I'll hunt him down myself if he left us!" one of the desk workers told them. "You know how long it would take us to figure out his filing system?"

"Yeah," another chimed in. "If anything, we should be on the look out for other villages stealing him to get their paperwork in order!"

Kakashi had quickly grabbed Naruto and dragged him away before he could start a new theory that Iruka had not voluntarily left the village, and was, in fact, kidnapped.

At least they found out they had to head to the east gate for their next information source, but they stopped at Ichiraku's for lunch, and to check that Iruka was not there.

Ayame assured them Iruka had not even been seen there all day, but promised she would keep an eye out.

Eventually making their way to the east gate, Izumo and Kotetsu could only shrug their shoulders.

"Iruka didn't say he was going to become a missing nin," Izumo pondered.

"No one would actually say that in advance!" Naruto challenged.

"I don't know, if anyone would, I think Iruka would," Kotetsu laughed. "He'd want everything in order before he left."

"See?" Naruto said to Kakashi. "Maybe he was kidnapped after all..."

"You've been quite helpful," Kakashi said to the other men, pushing Naruto away from the gate. "Thanks."

"I know where we should go next!" Naruto yelled. "His apartment!"

"What?!"

"Yeah, how did I not think of that before! We should check that he's not home, come on!"

Kakashi attempted to protest about multiple reasons why this was not a good idea, but Naruto ignored them all.

They were soon outside of the younger man's apartment, and Naruto pulled out a key.

"He gave you a key?" Kakashi asked, surprised.

"Only for emergencies," Naruto told him. "And this is an emergency!"

"I'm not sure that's true," Kakashi mused. "But good to know you could barge in at any time..."

His concerns were relieved, at least slightly, when a complex set of chakra wards and barriers wove around them as soon as the door opened.

Unsurprisingly, they largely ignored Naruto, though they did seem to tense up at his flustered temperament.

"I'm looking for Iruka-sensei!" Naruto called out. "I can't find him today!"

"Probably," Kakashi added, as the wards seemed to...dare he say, roll their eyes at Naruto, before focusing more intently on himself. "I'm unwillingly dragged along," Kakashi said to no one.

He was glad for the mask on his face as he felt himself blush slightly as the wards noted his chakra and tittered and tingled around him, almost acting flustered that he was there rather than on alert.

"I'm not trying to rush anything," Kakashi muttered, staying in his spot by the front door as Naruto ran around the apartment. He had not wanted to literally enter the man's private space uninvited by Iruka himself, and certainly not after one date.

Still, he figured it wouldn't hurt to look around from where he was stationed, and he noted the odds and ends in the living room, a glimpse of a clean kitchen, some papers covering a table here and there.

"Anything?" he warily called out.

"No?" Naruto replied, from another room.

"Then let's go," Kakashi commented.

"I just don't get it," Naruto said, reappearing. "Where could he be?"

"Don't know, don't care," Kakashi said, itching to find the chuunin on his own. "Lock up behind you, I'm out of here."

"Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto full-on whined. "You have to help me!"

"I've helped you for the past few hours, I'm tired. I was tired before, I'm tired now," Kakashi told him.

"One more place? Then you can go be moody or whatever," Naruto pleaded.

Kakashi thought about Iruka, about finding the man and catching up with him, perhaps seeing about date number two, as he looked at hopeful blue eyes.

Blue eyes that worked on Iruka, Kakashi thought to himself. And if he helped Naruto....well, it could earn him points with the teacher...

"One more," Kakashi sternly told him. "Just one."

_______

Kakashi scratched the back of his head. 

"The academy? Really?" he sighed.

"Well, like you said, I didn't ask anyone..." Naruto sheepishly admitted. "And class is almost out, so maybe he's here after all?"

Kakashi sighed yet again that day and put his hands in his pockets as he followed his student in, where they checked in at the main office.

"Iruka-sensei?" an office worker said when Naruto inquired. "I haven't seen him today, no."

"Did he call in sick? Leave a note? Tell you where he was going to be a missing nin at?!" Naruto asked.

The office worker looked between Naruto and Kakashi, the latter of whom shrugged.

"Can't say that he did, but I wasn't here yesterday," the worker told them. "Sorry?"

Naruto grumbled but turned to leave, Kakashi following him before pausing and doubling back for a moment.

"Say," he asked the staff again. "Can I see your staff roster? Just checking on something."

The workers obliged and Kakashi thanked them as he left.

"There you have it," Kakashi said to Naruto as they left the academy grounds. "Have a good rest of your day."

"You're leaving?"

"We had a deal," Kakashi reminded him.

"But!" Naruto began, pausing. "But, Iruka-sensei is still missing! If we don't keep looking the trail will go cold! We have to go back and demand to see the Hokage, to have her send her best! ANBU, trackers, hunters, anyone and everyone! The whole village should be looking for him by now! Plus, I was hoping he'd take me out for ramen," the blond pouted.

"You had ramen for lunch," Kakashi told him. "Even I know Iruka wouldn't want you to have it twice in one day. Now I'm going to go this way," he said, gesturing in a direction. "You go the opposite way, I'll see you in three days to train."

And with that, the copy nin walked away, not thinking twice about his student.

About thirty minutes later, Kakashi came across Iruka in a park. The teacher was wearing shinobi blues minus his vest, laid out on a blanket on his stomach, reading a book, as other groups in the area were doing.

"Sensei," Kakashi greeted him as he approached.

Iruka looked up, surprised, but smiled and sat up, closing his book.

"Hello, Kakashi! Want to join me?"

Kakashi gave him an eye smile as he did, and they looked at each other, smiling in silence.

"Did you get back alright?" Iruka quietly asked him.

"I did," Kakashi said, noting the way the other man's shoulders relaxed slightly at the news.

"Good!"

"How have you been?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka exhaled loudly. "Okay, til this week. It was just a lot."

"So I've heard," Kakashi mused, and Iruka looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "A blond fox knocked on my door this morning quite frantic about your challenging week."

"What?" Iruka laughed.

"And that he couldn't find you. I was dragged all over the village looking for you with him, as Naruto firmly believes you've become a missing nin."

"I what?" Iruka asked. "He what? Why would he think that?"

"Something you said?"

Iruka rubbed his face with a hand. "I did, admittedly, but, like, we all say that at some point or another. Naturally, he seems to have forgotten t hat I also told him I was going to see about taking Friday off and having some time to myself."

"Naturally," Kakashi agreed. "Which I only saw when we finally went to the academy not long ago and I peeked at the staff schedule."

Iruka laughed. "And Naruto didn't?"

"His investigation skills need work," Kakashi admitted. "Then, the pack helped me to actually find you. But am I intruding on your time off? I didn't know..."

"No, no!" Iruka assured him. "Not at all. I would have told you I was off today, but I didn't know you'd be back..."

"I didn't know I'd be gone," Kakashi admitted. "I'm sorry it happened right after that night, and that I didn't have time to let you know."

"Me too," Iruka sighed. "But I found out soon enough. And, it happens, and it will happen again. It's alright," he said, shrugging. "I'm okay with it if you are?"

"Not that we have a choice," Kakashi laughed. "But I'm glad we're on the same page about it."

They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, watching the clouds and others in the park.

Kakashi stretched. "Naruto will still be looking for you, both to make sure you're not a missing nin, and to try to get you to buy him dinner."

Iruka rolled his eyes and flopped back on the blanket, arms crossed under his head. "Oh, Naruto."

Kakashi put his hands behind him and stretched his legs out, as he leaned back, braced on his arms. "We could just go to dinner, instead."

"Are you asking me out again?" Iruka teased.

"Perhaps. Or, it appears I found a missing nin and I have to guard you to ensure the safety of the village," Kakashi suggested.

Iruka laughed. "I was going to accept anyway, but how can I say no when you put it that way? But, you picked the place last time, so I'd like to pick it this time."

"If you insist," Kakashi told him. "Though I call dibs on the next time."

"Already booking a third date? I'm flattered," Iruka smiled. "Careful though, or I might not let you go."

"I wouldn't say no to that. Though, we should probably get word to Naruto at some point that you're in the village so he leaves us alone. And that you haven't been kidnapped."

Iruka raised his head in surprise. "That I haven't been what?"

"It's a long story," Kakashi sighed. "I'll tell it to you over dinner..."

**Author's Note:**

> Feedback and suggestions welcomed!
> 
> Let's connect, I'm on [tumblr](https://hkandiu.tumblr.com/)


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